


Grace

by Tashilover



Category: Original Work
Genre: Humans Are Weird, Humans are space orcs, tumblr-inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2018-10-09 22:54:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10423629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tashilover/pseuds/Tashilover
Summary: Nolo didn't understand why they had to take a human on their mission.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my silly little fic for the 'Humans are space orcs' tag on tumblr. I really enjoyed other people's stuff in there and wanted to do something of my own.

Nolo was jealous of Team B.

Team B had Christopher, the tall, thick human with golden hair like the sun, and had muscles that could rival a jolack during its mating season. Now _that_ was a human. That was someone Nolo wanted to travel with, to observe and talk to. Every team had their designated human, and when it was Nolo's turn to find who was theirs, he was severely disappointed.

First of all, her name was _Grace_. It was so simple, even Yulon, who lost two of his mandibles three cycles ago, could pronounce it easily. Grace was female, as short as Nolo, fat, and was much older than the other escort humans. She was nearly fifty. Once Nolo laid his five eyes on her, he felt nothing but disappointment. This was his companion? Why did Team B get the young man in his prime and they got _Grace_?

Nolo's teammates didn't see the issue. Of course, they've never seen a human before and fawned over her. They touched her hair, inspected her fingers, and were absolutely delighted to have her on their team. Grace happily touched them as well, running her disgusting digits over their mandibles, poking at their anttenae. Nolo was glad nobody seemed to notice he was keeping his distance.

Once they were ready, Team A was off into the wilderness to create their map. They were given only a few days to complete their task, but Nolo was confident they could it. If they kept going at a nice steady pace, there'll be no problem.

Except.

Nolo had forgotten humans needed to expel their waste. Nearly every hour Grace forced the group to stop so she could excuse herself and go into the bushes. Sometimes it only took a few minutes, sometimes it took nearly fifteen. They also needed to stop for her to eat, rest, and on one occasion, "Selfie!" On their first night out, they only traveled ten miles. Pathetic.

Nolo's companions didn't mind. They were in awe of every stupid thing Grace did, from the way she talked, ate, and when she sneezed, they chortled loudly and gleefully. By the third day they were forty miles behind schedule. Nolo had truly come to hate Grace.

The elders always told them to travel with a human. Humans were strong, courageous, and were a threat to be reckoned with. Surely they meant someone like Christopher, not someone like Grace who kept showing them pictures of her overweight cats.

On the fourth night as they sat around the campfire, Nolo angrily wrote his notes, pointedly ignoring Grace as she regaled her college years to the others.

 _Who cares?_ Thought Nolo. _Who cares about your ability to imbide alcohol? Not me._ Look at this. They should've hit the western mountains already. Instead they were here, miles away because, once again, Grace needed to rest. This was easily the worst assignment Nolo has ever been on and it was all because of that human's fault-

A sudden deep growl erupted from the darkness of the wilderness, startling everyone. Grace stupildy looked up from her can of baked beans and muttered, "What was that?"

" _Rexrode_ ," Nolo whispered, horrified. He didn't have time to explain when suddenly the animal leapt out of the bushes and was on top of him within a second.

Nolo has never seen a rexrode outside of his school books. They were large, hairy animals with more teeth and claws than evolution should've given them. This ungodly beast was right on top of him, crushing him, its front claw digging deep into his shoulder, making him scream.

The rest of Team A scattered. Of course they did. They had no weapons, no way of fighting this thing. Nolo couldn't blame them, he'd do the same. Still, he cried out in horror as the rexrode opened its jaw and leaned down to eat his face.

"HEY!"

Both Nolo and the rexrode turned to the voice. There stood Grace, holding her can of baked beans. "Get the fuck off him!"

She threw her can.

The can bounced uselessly off of the rexrode's shoulder. The beast huffed, and it struck out with one of its six legs, slashing Grace across the arm. She cried out and fell back, nearly falling on top of the campfire.

Nolo sobbed. Was this how it was going to end? It was bad enough he was going to be eaten, but the last person he was going to see before the lights go dim was Grace, the useless, pointless human assigned to his team.

Grace achingly got back up. She turned, and Nolo gulped at the sight of her. She was bleeding heavily from her wounds, a fat bruise was already forming around her cheek, and yet there wasn't a single ounce of pain shown on her face. In that moment Grace was as much as an animal as the rexrode. Her mouth turned into a snarl as she bent down and grabbed a burning log from the fire.

"I said," she bit out, holding the log tightly in her fist. "Get the _fuck_ off of him."

The rexrode slashed at her again. This time she was ready for it. She ducked underneath its swipe, swung the burning log and smashed it against the rexrode's leg. The animal squealed and wrenched back its leg, but Grace didn't let up. She ran right at the rexrode, bringing the burning log down upon it over and over again, all the while screaming, "BACK OFF! I SAID, BACK OFF! GET OFF OF HIM! GET! THE! FUCK! OFF! OF! HIM!"

She kept screaming, not letting up until the singed redroxe ran back into the wilderness, its tail tucked between its legs.

Nolo couldn't believe what he just witnessed. Even as his companions slowly came out of their hiding places, he continued staring at Grace. She stood by the edge of the camp, still holding the burning log, waiting. When she was satisfied the rexrode wasn't coming back, she huffed, muttered, "That's what I thought," and dropped the log.

She turned to Nolo. "Nolo, are you alright?"

He couldn't stop staring at her hand. Her entire right hand was severely burned, turned nearly black. It was bleeding horrifically, and there were chunks of spliters sticking out of it, and yet _she_ was asking _him_ if _he_ was alright?

Nolo burst into tears.

He always thought the stories told of humans were exaggerations, tall-tales the humans themselves spread in order to make themselves look better. Nolo knew better now. He was never going to doubt another human again, and he was never going to go on another mission again- not unless Grace was with him.


	2. Rose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: non-consensual touching and alien body horror.

Skyler was pretty sure Rose was just using her.

It was fine, Skyler didn't mind. She was glad to have a friend, even if said friend was only sticking around long enough to get... well, Skyler wasn't sure what Rose got from this interaction. It certainly wasn't popularity. Surely Rose had noticed the dirty looks thrown their ways, the whispered insults behind their backs. Maybe on her own Rose would've risen to the top, but no, by being Skyler's friend, she's doomed herself as a fellow freak.

"You know," Skyler said one day after three months of daily interactions. "You can stop."

Rose looked like she was thrown for a loop. "Stop what?"

"This. You. Me. Ask what you want of me and I'll give it to you."

Even by alien standards, Rose was beautiful. She had bright green orbs, long, thick red hair, and her arms were well proportioned to the rest of her body. Why would such an exceptional human bother hanging around a low level grunt like Skyler? It was asinine to think about it.

Rose snorted. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I..." Skyler turned to her, her head bowed. This needed to be stopped now before Skyler got her four hearts broken later on. "Rose, you don't need to lie to me. I know you're only hanging out with me because you want something."

"What? Skyler, I-"

"Let me finish. I've enjoyed our time together, but I cannot stand the anticipation... so please, just tell me what it is you want."

Rose rubbed a hand over her face. She huffed. "I've read this about your species. This... perceived hierarchy. Humans don't have that. I mean, we do, but it's not as strongly ingrained. I truly want to be your friend, Skyler. There are no strings attached."

Insane. "You don't need to insult my intelligence," Skyler said, getting miffed. "If you're not here because you want something, then it's out of pity, isn't it?"

"Stop, just stop. You don't get to tell me how I feel. I like you, I thought you were cool and I wanted to be friends. Isn't that enough?"

Cool. Skyler knew when humans used that word, it was to describe a state of mind rather than temperature. It meant Rose admired Skyler on a certain level.

Preposterous.

"If you won't tell me," Skyler lifted her head. "Then I'll end it here. Goodbye, Rose."

"Skyler, wait-!"

Skyler turned and walked quickly in the other direction, ignoring Rose's repeated requests to come back. Even if Skyler wanted to turn back, she didn't want to show the tears running down her cheeks.

 

 

 

 

 

Two weeks after Skyler ended their so-called friendship, the bullying started back up again.

As the runt of the litter, Skyler had been mercilessly teased for her uneven horns, her different colored eyes, and her small tusks. Skyler was used to it, tuning out the taunts and choosing to focus on other things. But now that her friendship with Rose ended, the insults had gotten worse, turning into physical shoves as Skyler walked down the halls.

A clawed hand stroked the back of Skyler's neck and she shuddered. She twisted around to see Darwin, the alpha male of her year. He towered over Skyler, blocking out the light from above, turning his presence even more menacing.

"Please don't touch me," Skyler said, averting her gaze.

"Don't tell me what to do," he snapped at her. "Why are you even here, little one?"

"I... I'm here to study-"

"False. You got here because some higher-ups felt sorry for you. You got here out of pity."

Skyler felt shame. He wasn't wrong.

"I do good work," Skyler tried again. "I'm not useless."

"False. You're taking up space, and it's quite clear you're too damn ugly to mate with, so you're just an eyesore. You should drop out."

Skyler struggled to keep the tears in. "I don't want to drop out. I like it here, I want to finish my studies-"

Darwin slammed his open palm against the wall above her, startling her into silence. Skyler shook and curled further into herself. She started to cry.

Then, a miracle.

"Hey!"

Both heads turned towards the voice. Skyler gave out a small gasp. It was Rose.

Rose ran up to them, shoving Darwin away. It was a weak shove, only forcing him to take two steps back.

"Leave her alone!" She snapped at him. "Can't you see you're scaring her?"

"Get off," Darwin snorted. "I'm the alpha here and I will do what I see fit. This doesn't concern you, human."

"Just... leave Skyler alone, okay? C'mon, Skyler, let's go."

Rose tried to lead Skyler away, but Darwin's large, beefy hand snapped out, grabbing Rose by the wrist.

"If you want her, then you have to fight for her."

"That's stupid." Rose hissed back. She tugged on her wrist and found she could not get loose.

"You're only saying that because you know you can't win. I am faster than you, stronger than you, smarter than you, human. Just forfeit this match and this runt, and you don't have to get hurt."

Quietly, Rose looked over her shoulder at Skyler. The small alien was crying, too scared to speak. Skyler knew what Rose must've been thinking: she was not going to risk life and limb to defend this loser. Skyler was not worth it.

Rose turned back. She strained her neck to look up at Darwin. "Your species can regenerate their limbs, right?"

Darwin grinned proudly. "That's right. Scared, are you? I know humans can't regenerate their body parts, so if you get hurt, you'll stay damaged-"

Rose's free hand suddenly snapped out, grabbing the sensitive gland between Darwin's legs. She didn't blink, she didn't yell, and before Darwin knew what was happening, Rose twisted her grip tightly, and ripped the gland off of him as easily as picking fruit off a tree.

With a breathless gasp, Darwin's grip loosened on Rose's wrist and she backed away. Darwin dropped to his knees and curled in on himself, his eyes bugging out in pain, his face turning red. Rose circled Darwin like a shark, the gland still gripped tightly in her hand.

"Listen here you little _fuck_ ," Rose snarled at him. "You don't mess with my friends ever again, do you hear me? If I even get so much as a _whiff_ of you harassing Skyler, I'll rip this bit off in such a way it'll _never_ regrow again. Do you understand me?"

Darwin nodded quickly.

"Good."

And with one last final insult, Rose dropped the gland over Darwin's shoulder. It tumbled to the floor with a wet splat.

"C'mon, Skyler," Rose said, leading her away.

Skyler was doubtful of a lot of things: her self-worth, the intelligence of her math professor, her ability to bake. But never again would she doubt Rose's friendship to her.


	3. Steve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Blood, body horror, general gross stuff

Olaf bit down on his tongue, refusing to let the bile rise up in his throat. Now wasn't the time to be sick, not when he needed to keep a straight head, not when others were depending on him to fight. But the more he watched the human, Steve, the more he felt the need to be violently sick.

There was a large opened wound running from the back of Steve's elbow down to his wrist. The cut was deep, jagged, exposing muscle to open air. That wasn't the terrible part. Olaf watched as Steve took out an emergency sewing kit, a kit only meant for small tears in clothing, and began stitching his own fucking arm back up.

Olaf's mandibles vibrated at the sight. His breathing sped up.

At the panicked sound, Steve looked up from his stitching. "Hey, you okay?"

The only indication of Steve's discomfort was the trickle of sweat rolling down his forehead. Other than that, he made no noise, not of pain or disgust.

"I'm fine," Olaf said. He was not going to vomit, he was _not_ going to vomit. "I just don't see how you can do that without screaming."

Steve huffed and went back to sewing. " _I don't have time to bleed,_ " he said in a deeper, pointed tone.

Olaf had no idea what the fuck that was supposed to mean. He turned his attention back to the door, gripping his weapon harder. Outside of that door was an entire legion of Qui'xons, ready to sluaghter them. All Olaf had was a plasma rifle- half used- and an injured human who was too dumb to know he was in pain.

"Alright, I'm done," Steve announced.

Olaf looked and grimaced. The stitches were an uneven ugly mess of twisted, bloody flesh. Obviously this was Steve's first time stitiching a wound. He wrapped his arm, his face never once flickering from that determine look, not even as blood soaked through the gauze.

Olaf admired him for that.

"Alright," Steve said, pushing himself up to his feet. He stumbled for a second, regained his balance and shook the dizziness off. He picked up his own weapon. "Let's fucking do this."

 

 

 

 

 

 

A week later, Olaf sat in the hospital's cafeteria, eating a small meal of seasoned mealworms, dried maggots, and a chocolate chip cookie for dessert. He ate slowly, his right arm still in a sling. Everytime he jiggled his arm too much, streaks of hot pain shot up to his shoulder. His compound eyes ached from the hours of crying he's already done. He was too tired to cry more. Still, as he moved closer to the table to eat, he gently bumped his elbow against the side.

"Gah!" He hissed out, dropping his fork and curling in on himself. Against his wishes, a single tear fell down his scaled cheek.

"Hit your elbow again?"

It was Steve. Still decked in hospital garb, Steve shuffled closer to the table, his food tray in his remaining hand, and slowly sat it down.

Olaf had no idea how Steve did it. They were surrounded by blood-thirsty Qui'xons, low on ammo, and somehow they managed to break through their lines and regain control of the ship. Olaf broke his arm in the process, and Steve...

The emergency stitch job saved his life, but the infection from the thread took his arm afterwards. Despite this, never once did Steve cry or complain about it. "I'm just glad to be alive!" He said, laughing.

He could laugh about losing an arm, and yet Olaf couldn't stop crying over the simple aches and pain of his own. It was shameful.

Steve carefully sat down at the table, still getting used to only having one arm to manuever. His meal only consisted of potatoes and a bread roll. He awkwardly picked up his fork, holding it the same way like it were a flashlight, and casually glanced over to Olaf's meal.

He blinked. "You got a cookie?"

"Hmm? Oh yes, it was one of the last ones."

"You serious? I haven't had chocolate since I left the colonies! Damn, I wish I came earlier."

Olaf picked up the cookie. He held it out to Steve. "Here, you have it."

"What? No, Olaf, it's yours-"

"My friend, you saved my life on that ship. I think you deserve some fucking chocolate."

It didn't take much to convince him. Steve smiled, and gratefully reached over to take the cookie. "Thanks, man."

He took a bite.

Olaf picked up his fork to start eating again and froze. He was startled to see thick, wet tears running down Steve's cheeks.

"Are you alright?" Olaf asked, panicked. "Are you in pain? Are you-?"

Stever shook his head. Tears continued to cascade down his face in streams.

"It's so fucking good," he said, sobbing, taking another bite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a prompt from someone who wanted a story about a human being a total badass and treating immense pain like it's nothing, but something small makes them cry.


	4. Tina

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mild gore, violence, slavery

"For the love of-! Stop crying!"

The human girl only wailed harder. Thick tears ran down her face, making her cheeks an ugly, splotchy mess. She was on the verge of hyperventilating, her every breath a heaving, gasping cry. "Please!" She begged. "Please, I just want to go home!"

Gorlick wanted to shut her up. He imagined smacking her across the face, silencing that mouth of hers. He resisted the urge. Despite how she currently looked and sound, this human was a gem. She was only sixteen cycles, tall and thin, with skin soft as worn leather. She had long black hair and clear brown eyes. On the Black Market, she was going to earn Gorlick hundreds, if not thousands of credits.

The girl's bird-like wrists were bound in thick shackles. She tugged at them uselessly as Gorlick continued to drag her through the ship. He didn't understand why she fought. Her strength was like that of a child, and Gorlick barely registered her desperate tugging and pulling.

"Mama," the girl sobbed. "Papa..."

Her parents were dead. Why she was still crying out for them? It wasn't like they were going to come back to life and save her. When Gorlick boarded their ship, he made damn sure they dead, shooting them both twice in the back. He wanted a guarantee they weren't going to try to find the girl down the road, thus ruining his job security.

"Please... Please..."

Gorlick snapped. "Oh, will you stop it! You should be grateful! With your looks, you're likely to become a servant rather than a toy."

The girl sniffled. "Is t-that why y-y-you boarded our s-ship? To s-sell me as a-a-a-a... slave?"

"Look at that, the human has a brain. Now, if you're good and keep your mouth shut, you might actually get sold to someone who'll want to preserve that pretty face of yours. Humans are valuable in this part of space, and you're going to make me a mint, sweetie."

The girl bowed her head. "I want to go home..."

"You are home. Get used to it."

Gorlick didn't know what did it, but she finally quieted down and stopped fighting. She was still crying, silent tears ran down her wet cheeks. At least she now obediently walked behind Gorlick, allowing him to lead her.

Gorlick smirked in satisfaction.

On the way to the cargo hold, he passed fellow crewmember, Tulli. Behind Tulli trailed a line of new slaves, many of them under the age of ten cycles. None of them were as precious as the human, and the best use they would get out of them were cleaners or target practice.

The chain Gorlick was holding suddenly went taunt. He turned to see what was the problem. The girl had stopped. She was staring at Tulli's line of slaves in horror.

She swallowed. "Are those... children?"

"What? You've never seen Borio infants before? Don't you worry your pretty head about them. Most of them will be sold by the end of the week."

He tugged on the chain to make the girl move. She refused.

"You sell children?"

"I sell everything! Now, move it! We need to clean you up for the buyers."

The girl turned her head to him. Gorlick was startled to see her face. No longer she was crying. Something had settled over her eyes, a deep unspeakable anger that only intensified the longer he stared. Something had changed within her, and the fear that was present before was gone now.

 _"You son of a bitch,"_ she whispered.

Gorlick reached for his electrical prod on his belt.

Before he could curl his hand over it, the girl launched herself at him, her mouth opened wide, teeth baring. She had no claws, no fangs, no sharp appendages to speak of. Despite she was as soft and easily destructible as fruit rotting in the sun, she sank her mouth into Gorlick's throat, biting deep.

Gorlick screamed, the sound coming out as a wet ripple. The girl bit down harder, breaking through skin, ignoring Gorlick's blows upon her back like it was nothing.

"Get her off!" Gorlick yelled to his companions as they came to help. "Get her off!"

Four hands grabbed at her, pulling her back. With an animalistic cry, the girl jerked her head back, taking Gorlick's throat with her.

Blue blood gushed out of Gorlick's neck like a river, and he fell to his knees, one hand coming up to stem the wound. Already he was dizzy, and with a groan, dropped to the floor, too weak to move.

Gorlick didn't understand. Just mere seconds ago this girl was a simpering mess, a pathetic fool who cowered under a harsh word. Now, as Gorlick's eyes slowly dimmed, he watched the girl fight off the other slavers, an unknown determination urging her on. How was this possible?

In the corner of the room, the Borio infants huddled together. Looking at them, a small quote blipped in Gorlick's mind.

_The most dangerous place in the world is between a mother and her children._

But that didn't make sense. These infants weren't even the girl's kin. They weren't even the same species! And yet there the girl stood, her fury undeniably triggered by the sight of infants. Body parts and blood strewn about her, her shoulders heaving with every breath she took. She then proceeded to unlock the infants' chains, and guided them out of the room. She didn't bother giving one last glance over to Gorlick.

 _It doesn't make sense,_ Gorlick kept thinking, even as his breathing slowed. _It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't-_


End file.
